Protests for housing. The numbers behind the demands

Portugal is experiencing a severe housing crisis, with rents rising nearly 30% from 2015 to 2024, significantly higher than the EU average of 16.8%. The 2021 census revealed over 5.9 million homes, with 69% as primary residences and 18.5% as second homes. Approximately 723,000 properties were vacant, but only half were available for sale or rent. The rental market shows a disparity between declared contracts and estimated informal agreements, with around 1.4 million declared contracts versus over 2 million informal ones. Institutional investment in housing is low, with only 5% of real estate investments directed towards housing, compared to 65% in Denmark.